Hornets confident they can improve through three picks in draft

Wednesday

Jun 25, 2014 at 11:48 PM

By Richard WalkerHalifax Media Group

CHARLOTTE — Ever since the Charlotte Hornets had the good fortune of inheriting a lottery pick from the Detroit Pistons as their reward of the Ben Gordon summer of 2012 trade, the team has had options to improve upon last year's surprising success.But what is the Hornets' next move?Do they package their draft picks (Nos. 9, 24 and 45) for a veteran player or players or future draft selections? Do they draft the shooting guard or forward virtually every mock draft has them choosing? Or do they do some combination of both?Clearly, Charlotte general manager Rich Cho and coach Steve Clifford are aware they have options.And, more importantly, they are both determined to come away with pieces that will help them improve on last year's 43-39 record and No. 7 seeding in the Eastern Conference playoffs.“I think this draft is very strong,” Cho said. “We're going to get a very good player at 9 and get a very good player at 24 and we have a chance to get a very good player at 45.”Whether that means an actual rookie, a veteran off another team or some future draft considerations remains to be seen.Cho admits there's an inherent debate between adding veteran players to what's already here and building for the future.“There's definitely a balance,” Cho said. “The last thing you want to do is sacrifice your long-term flexibility for a short-term gain. And, as our team grows and gets better and we need to re-sign players to add to our team ... you're always going to need players on rookie scale contracts. So you don't want to sacrifice your picks just for some short-term gain.”Clifford has been emphatic about one trait he thinks the team should add to a talented core led by guard Kemba Walker and center Al Jefferson.“I think size across the board is always a key thing at every position,” Clifford said. “When you get into the matchups of the playoffs, size is a big deal. We are small. We aren't terribly small but we are small.”According to the mock drafts, the Hornets' most likely choice is expected to be Creighton's 6-foot-7 small forward Doug McDermott.But there's enough significant diversity of opinion among Hornets scouts, coaches and player personnel types (as well as the mock drafts) that that choice could come from a number of other players.Among that group would be UCLA's 6-6 combo guard Zach LaVine, Michigan State's 6-4 off guard Gary Harris, Arizona's 6-9 power forward Aaron Gordon, Duke's 6-8 small forward Rodney Hood and Michigan 6-6 off guard Nik Stauskas.Of those players, McDermott, LaVine, Harris, Hood and Stauskas were among the 63 who came to Charlotte for pre-draft workouts.At selection No. 24, the pool of possible choices is obviously greater. But mock drafts have the team choosing from among Michigan's 6-10 power forward Mitch McGary, N.C. State's 6-8 small forward T.J. Warren, Kentucky's 6-6 off guard James Young, Michigan State's 6-10 power forward Adreian Payne, Syracuse's 6-8 small forward Jerami Grant, Clemson's 6-6 off guard K.J. McDaniels and North Carolina's 6-5 off-guard P.J. Hairston.Of that group, Warren, Grant, McDaniels and Hairston came in for workouts, with McDaniels and Hairston coming in for a second workout. Also, ESPN draft insider Chad Ford reported on twitter Tuesday that McGary hadn't worked out for the Hornets because he had a deal in place to come to Charlotte.“In an ideal world, you're going to take a best player and he's going to fill a need,” Cho said. “But there has to be a balance.”Translation: Cho and Clifford simply want the Hornets have a more talented roster than they currently have by the end of Thursday night.